An early scene consisting of mature content used for works of fiction to let the audience know right off the bat that no, [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids this ain't for kids]]. The R-Rated Opening is primarily for dealing with potential PublicMediumIgnorance about genres that are not all filled with family-friendly material, or involve mature "twists" on iconic family-friendly genres/themes such as a SuperHero film from UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks, that's based on a DarkerAndEdgier {{Deconstruction}} of your typical [[TheCape cape]]. Having someone [[DeadlyDodging get shot]], [[NeverSayDie die]], or even just ''[[BloodlessCarnage bleed]]'' on screen will very clearly let audiences know to expect things to get much, much more serious and give fair warning for any parent who didn't pay attention to the [[UsefulNotes/MediaClassifications R-rating]] but saw "cartoony people" in the movie trailer and thought they were taking their kids into some light-hearted fare.

Animated works trying to break out of the AnimationAgeGhetto are a popular source for these. An R-Rated Opening can set the mood early by openly [[SubvertedTrope subverting]] standard conventions about the "heavy" material being well into the work and set the tone for the mature territory right where it should be. It can be combined with MoodWhiplash by starting out with a clichéd light-hearted scene the audience has seen a million times from the genre and completely dismembering it figuratively and literally.

%%Despite the trope name, the production in question does not actually have to have an R (or TV-MA) rating, as examples of this can be found in PG and PG-13/TV-14 productions as well (such as the page image which is taken from a PG-13 movie).----!!Examples:

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[[folder: Anime and Manga]]* Tokyo getting destroyed nuclear-style in the opening shot, and then the dogs and the spy getting killed in ''Manga/{{Akira}}''. The spy's death was especially bloody, just to drive home the point that, no, [[AnimationAgeGhetto even though it's animated]], this is not for kids.* ''Anime/SpaceRunawayIdeon'' The opening to [[TheMovie ''Be Invoked'']] has main character Cosmo Yuki witness how one of his two love interests, Kitty, is horribly killed by a [[HumanAliens Buff Clan]] attack. The movie even shows [[OffWithHisHead the poor girl's severed head]] in the reflection of Cosmo's helmet! [[KillEmAll It gets worse from there.]]* The opening of ''Manga/{{Karin}}'' has a large amount of nudity that has nothing to do with what actually happens in the anime.* All variants of the story of ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' have done this, in varying ways:** The three thugs getting killed by Guts in the bar scene from the anime, including one getting ''slashed in half'' with his {{BFS}}.** The manga manages to take its opening UpToEleven and has Guts, in a totally superfluous non-sequitur, sexing up and killing a female demon just to establish himself as a stone-cold badass. This is generally considered to be EarlyInstallmentWeirdness by the fans, as Guts is revealed later in the story to have an aversion to sex or even [[HatesBeingTouched being touched]] in general, making that scene completely out-of-character for him. [[spoiler:And then we find out said female demon is the one that ate Corkus alive during the Eclipse]].** The first movie's opening scene throws us headlong into a castle siege and ends with Guts killing the giant Bazuso in very bloody fashion.** ''Anime/{{Berserk 2016}}'''s ''opening credits'' are basically a summing-up of the Golden Age Arc, including [[spoiler:Griffith's torture, the horror of the Eclipse, Casca's rape at the hands of Femto, and Guts chiseling off his arm]]. The first episode proper begins with Farnese and company coming across the lake of blood and the partially-eaten remains of the [[spoiler:Band of the Hawk]].* The anime adaptation of ''Manga/{{Parasyte}}'' took a scene from the middle of the first chapter and showed it as the very opening of the first episode. In this scene, a man who has been taken over by the titular creature opens his face ''five'' ways and reveals a gaping, black hole full of teeth and five eyes and then [[OffWithHisHead bites his wife's head off]], with lots of blood and gore. [[{{Understatement}} Not nice]].* Lucy's rampage through the lab in ''Manga/ElfenLied'' definitely qualifies, with bonus points for [[FanService taking off her straitjacket]] so she could be [[FullFrontalAssault completely naked for her killing spree]], except for the creepy helmet. Not to mention the nudity throughout the opening theme sequence in each episode.* ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'' (The 2003 anime adaptation of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'') starts off by showing the transmutation that caused the loss of Edward's leg and Alphonse's body. With copious amounts of blood from Edward's stump.* The YourHeadASplode scene from the opening of ''Anime/GhostInTheShell''. To say nothing about the quasi-nudity of the optical camouflage suit, or the actual nudity in the scene of the Major's body being built.* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' starts with Keichi beating Rena and Mion into a pulp with a baseball bat. This is based on the opening of the original VisualNovel, where he gives a monologue with the sound of loud, sickening thwacks in the background before abruptly cutting to [[GoodMorningCrono him getting ready for school]]. The opening credits also feature a nontrivial amount of blood, creepy music and visuals, and mild nudity.* Shinji [[ADateWithRosiePalms helping himself]] over Asuka's [[DudeShesLikeInAComa comatose body]] at the start of ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion End of Evangelion]]''. For bonus points, the English dub has him saying that he is "so fucked up."* ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' shows off guns, {{Stripperific}} outfits, and swearing before you even get through the opening song.* The opening of ''Anime/PrincessMononoke'' has an ominous bit of background text superimposed on a dark screen, but for good measure the first scene contains a highly disturbing demonic form assaulting a village, almost eating a child, and eventually getting shot by an arrow [[EyeScream in the eye]], before melting away into a gigantic skeleton. Needless to say, anyone who brought their young daughter to see the cute anime princess should leave at this point. ** It's also noteworthy in this case that people often ignored the PG-13 rating; as the film came out in theaters in the middle of the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' craze, and by extension, the family-friendly ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie''. People who were expecting a wholesome family adventure were promptly stricken with cries of WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids* ''Anime/SwordOfTheStranger'' opens with a hail of arrows ambush by bandits. This succeeds in killing approximately one person and some pack animals, and maybe winging one or two others. And then the Unstoppable BloodKnight Badass of the BadassCrew that comprises the villains of the movie scales a cliff and slaughters 15-20 bandits, throwing their bodies down as he goes. The bandit leader gets taken down by a blade toss. Lastly, he finishes off one unarmed (and missing one arm) bandit who is writhing in pain on the ground as if he were stepping on a bug.* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeedDestiny'' starts with Shinn Asuka's family being accidentally gunned down by two mechas as the kid stares in horror at the corpses.* The first scene of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' is focused on [[ChildSoldier Setsuna's]] DarkAndTroubledPast, showing the future protagonist running through a ruined city filled with bodies, trying in vain to fight a squadron of mobile suits. 0 Gundam does not show its face until the very end of the scene, right before it cuts into the opening.* ''Anime/BloodPlus'' begins with Saya's bloody rampage through a Vietnamese village--the most violent scene in the entire series.** Let's expand on that. Even before the opening, you are treated to a scene from UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. It quickly shifts to some flares, soldiers shooting monstrous creatures and Saya slaughtering everything in sight. You are most likely confused and horrified by now and to drive it even further, this is followed by a slow shot of a Vietnamese girl running away terrified only to be slashed in half by Saya. Cue opening.* ''Manga/{{X1999}}'' TheMovie starts with Kamui having a vision of his mother, with full frontal nudity, pulling the {{BFS}} [[{{Gorn}} out of her stomach with graphic detail]] [[HighPressureBlood and lots of blood.]]* ''Literature/ArashiNoYoruNi'' begins with Mei's mother biting off a wolf's ear to protect her son, only to have the other wolves rip her apart and kill her, telling Mei to leave her as she is dying.* ''Manga/DeadmanWonderland'' opens with the incredibly bloody mass murder of male protagonist Ganta's middle school class by an unknown figure in red. The manga on which it was based leads into this moment with Ganta playing with a girl as a child, making it even more jarring in that situation.* The first three episodes of ''Manga/SoulEater'' (which introduce the main characters) contain quite a bit more nudity and fanservice than the rest of the series. Not quite R-rated, but still jarring enough to notice.* The [[DancingTheme opening theme]] for the ''Manga/DanceInTheVampireBund'' anime... well it stops ''just'' short of female nudity, but given the [[UndeadChild apparent]] [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld age]] of the female lead the NippleAndDimed thing does not help much. The manga is a bit of an improvement, as it takes [=2/3=] of a chapter for a noblewoman to command her head guardsman's teenage son to strip her to her panties (yes, same female lead). Quickly moving on to examples of the blood and swearing (more of the latter than we see for quite a while afterwards). Once in book form we don't even wait for the ''start'' - the female lead's posing on the back cover in panties, gloves and a rose - which really should keep it from being bought by accident.* Creator/KenAkamatsu is best known for his UnwantedHarem comedy work ''Manga/LoveHina'', and ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'', while undergoing a GenreShift, is still chock full of similar material and takes a while to get to the more action-y bits. In his newest work, ''Manga/UQHolder'', he apparently decided to make it clear from the get-go that this isn't more of the same: the first chapter includes almost none of his signature FanService, instead showing the protagonist getting an arm hacked off and another character being ''hacked into pieces'' in a bloody fashion (she gets better). * ''Anime/LupinIIITheWomanCalledFujikoMine'' uses an opening narration describing a love/lust of theft. The animation is of a naked woman in suggestive and non-suggestive poses. ''Lots'' of nipples, although genitalia is covered. The episodes themselves usually have less nudity, but deals with the older {{Seinen}} demographic, rather than the more general {{Shonen}} demographic. * ''Manga/HighschoolOfTheDead'' opens with several students running and fighting their way through a crowd of zombies, with plenty of blood and gore resulting. Not surprising, given the subject matter. However, we're also treated to some gratuitous {{Gainaxing}} and [[PantyShot panty shots]] from the female lead, and, in the English dub at least, a couple [[PrecisionFStrike precision F strikes]], making it abundantly clear within the first two minutes that this show is not appropriate for younger viewers.* The first episode of ''Anime/BlackButler'' ''II'' (that is, the second season) introduces [[CreepyChild Alois]] [[AxCrazy Trancy]] naked and bruised, in bed next to a [[ParentalIncest very naked old guy]], creepily muttering the word "[[MadnessMantra darkness]]" to himself over and over again.** The entire episode counts as this, since it focuses on Alois being [[InsaneEqualsViolent sadistic]] and [[MoodSwinger crazy]], basically telling the viewers that this season is much darker than the last one. Throughout the episode, Alois proceeds to: gouge out a maid's eye with his fingers, tell creepy personal stories about his prolonged abuse to strangers, make vaguely sexual comments to [[DepravedHomosexual every male person he interacts with]], beat that (now one-eyed) maid again, and then cry about not wanting to be alone.* The Manga/RurouniKenshin prequel OVA ''Tsuiokuhen/Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal'' starts with a gore-drenched sword massacre.* ''Manga/DailyLifeWithMonsterGirl'''s opening scene of its first episode features the protagonist accidentally causing Miia to orgasm by pulling on her tail, which is immediately followed by an OP with a decent amount of risque fanservice.* The opening for ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie'' sets things up as being DarkerAndEdgier than [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} the normal animé]] by having Mewtwo destroy the laboratory in which he was created minutes after he wakes up, killing every last scientist inside as they try to run away screaming. Then after meeting with Giovanni and being used as his tool, he blows up Team Rocket's base and swears to purge the world of non-clone life.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comics]]* ''ComicBook/{{Gear}}'' is a fairly-violent and upsetting HumongousMecha war-story, but has very cartoony artwork (reminiscent of Disney's cartoons in the 1920s). The first issue opens on a noirish interrogation scene that ultimately leads to a mafia-style execution. It uses a GoryDiscretionShot, but it still establishes that, despite the artwork, it's not an all-ages comic.* The first issue of the ''Comicbook/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|Mirage}}'' comic begins with the turtles fighting and killing a street gang, some of which uses a GoryDiscretionShot.* Done almost literally with ''Comicbook/{{Alias}}'' by Creator/BrianMichaelBendis: the very first word of the very first issue [[PrecisionFStrike is an F-bomb]].* Before the above Bendis example, the very second page of ''ComicBook/TheInvisibles'' is a splash page of a character screaming "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!".* ''ComicBook/{{Saga}}'''s opening scene is a childbirth scene, with the first line of dialogue being ''"Am I shitting? It feels like I'm shitting!"''.* The ''WebComic/{{Dreamkeepers}}'' Graphic Novels opens with a summoning ritual where they show a big, giant spear going ''right through the heart''.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]* ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternFirstFlight'' starts with Abin Sur ''bleeding to death from a stomach wound''. It has quite a few dark moments after that.** And ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternEmeraldKnights'' started with shadow constructs ripping a Lantern apart ''on screen''. Yikes.* ''[[ComicBook/DCTheNewFrontier Justice League: The New Frontier]]'' opens with the painter/author of the apocalyptic book committing suicide (from a first-person point of view, for bonus viewing pleasure). In case anyone missed the pre-credits opening, the story proper begins with TechnicalPacifist Hal Jordan being forced to shoot a man in the face in self-defense and sinking into a blood-splattered HeroicBSOD as the scene fades out.** By the way, that man was (an ''extremely'' thinly veiled) Creator/DrSeuss. Just in case him killing himself didn't do it for you.* The opening scenes of ''Literature/WatershipDown'' probably [[SugarApocalypse served as]] an inspiration for ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends''.* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanUnderTheRedHood'' opens with SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker beating Jason Todd with in an inch of his life with a crowbar, mocking him as he lies in a pool of his own blood, and then leaving him to die in an explosion. This film was also rated PG-13.* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm'' opens with a crook being beat up by Batman, and then being killed by an unrelated figure. It was only a PG film, but since [[AnimationAgeGhetto it was made in the 90s...]]* ''[[Film/TheMatrix The Animatrix]]'' is fairly dark and fairly violent throughout, but the very first short starts with an erotic sparring match and the second one is full of gruesome murders and the occasional maiming.* ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce Colon Movie Film For Theaters'' starts with some singing concessions cheerfully asking you not to expose yourself indecently. And then [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome more food appears and belts out a violent heavy metal song]] threatening to kill you if you interrupt or redistribute the film, as part of a parody of "Let's All Go to the Lobby," a drive-in movie trailer.* ''WesternAnimation/TheTripletsOfBelleville'' got a PG-13 rating entirely because of the opening scene, which features a topless dancer. This doesn't seem to have been intentional, however -- the creators were French, and in their commentary, seem [[ValuesDissonance genuinely surprised and confused]] that one brief topless scene would be enough to bump up the rating all by itself, which says a lot about how America is uptight about sexuality and nudity (especially if it has to do with women) while France and most of Western Europe is okay with it within reason ("within reason" meaning "so long as it's not accompanied by violence or has children involved").* The opening for ''WesternAnimation/WonderWoman'' featured Hippolyta performing an [[OffWithHisHead on-screen decapitation.]] The writers commented that they were only able to keep their PG-13 rating because it was done in silhouette.* ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'' opens with the mass genocide of an entire planet save one survivor ([[ShootTheShaggyDog who gets eaten alive later on anyway]]) before the opening credits, and then just barely five minutes after that it shows several beloved characters from the TV series getting KilledOffForReal. Similar in the case of ''Batman: Mask of the Phantasm'' though, it just received a PG rating since it was made in the 80's.* Just in case you still weren't convinced that ''WesternAnimation/SausageParty'' deserved its R rating, the very first line of spoken dialogue begins with "Shit", and is followed up with a CrossesTheLineTwice musical number including more swearing, sexual innuendo, and Nazis.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]* ''Film/{{Ulvesommer}}'' Is a weird case that it's considdered a family film in it's home Norway, it starts with wolves being shot from a helicopter. It tones down somewhat although it still [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar gets a whole lot crap in]] (like the LittleMissBadass' mother having sex with the BigBad in another room, one can hear it but kids will likely not understand). It does aparently have a 16+ rating internationally compared to the homerating of 7+.* ''Film/{{Cube}}'' opens with a gruesome death trap sprung on a hapless prisoner.* ''Film/SmallSoldiers'', about some [[MyLittlePanzer toy army guys]] who come to life, was rated PG-13 and had some swearing in the first scene.* ''Film/BasicInstinct'' starts with a man being tied up and then stabbed to death with an icepick mid-sex.* ''Film/CannibalTheMusical'': The name should probably have got you, but in case you're mistaking musicals as always family-friendly, there's the gory murder of an entire crew to start the movie. Then we [[MoodWhiplash go to the]] ''Film/{{Oklahoma}}''-like next scene...* ''Film/KickAss'' starts with a mentally deranged man jumping off a roof in a superhero costume and promptly falling to his death. The very next scene has the main character masturbating to his English teacher. This was likely put there for the benefit of all the people who saw the trailers of kids in superhero costumes and completely ignored the R-rating.* Curiously inverted by ''Film/KungFuHustle'', which starts with an EstablishingCharacterMoment for the main antagonists, the Axe Gang, by having them viciously murder several innocent people, and includes on-screen dismemberment and the film's only PrecisionFStrike. For the rest of the film, this characterization is largely forgotten, as the Axe Gang is mainly played for laughs, with not a hint of the violence shown in the opening. The rest of the movie is silly, tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top, slapstick martial arts. Cut out the opening scene and the film may have even warranted a mere PG-13 rating.* ''Film/FourWeddingsAndAFuneral'' starts with the main character [[ClusterFBomb exclaiming "fuck" ''repeatedly'']] because he's woken up to find he's late for a wedding.* The novel ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRings The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' opens with a happy birthday party in the happy land of happy Hobbits with a happy fireworks show. TheFilmOfTheBook, opening (as it did) right in the heat of Literature/HarryPotter fever (and very shortly after the release of the first, much more kid-friendly Potter movie), gives fair warning by opening with a flashback to the fall of Sauron--with thousands of bloodthirsty orc warriors, thousands of scarily kick-ass elves in armor, and one ''seriously'' scary great big Dark Lord. Kids, when the Balrog finally shows up, don't say you weren't warned.* ''Film/PansLabyrinth'' seems like a fairly kid-friendly movie, yeah? The story of a Spanish girl, dreaming of a fantasy world that may or may not be real. Pretty cool, right? Well... the opening shot is a character slowly bleeding to death. Then the ten-minute mark, we see two people getting killed very explicitly (GrievousBodilyHarm and gunshot, respectively). That should tip you off about the rest of the film.* About two minutes into ''Film/ComingToAmerica'' is a scene with two topless female royal attendants bathing the protagonist (Creator/EddieMurphy's character; ironically, the rest of the film is tamer.)* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd '' starts with a scene with many, many, people being executed, and implies that many might have been somewhat innocent, and ends with a small child, who couldn't even reach the noose, being killed. Even if the first two weren't exactly family-friendly and the rest of the film seems fairly tame in comparison with this scene.* The 2011 ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian2011'' film gives us a unique first view of the character: In the womb...during a C-Section, which starts when his [[PregnantBadass mother]] is stabbed in the stomach during battle.* Each of the films in the Franchise/TransformersFilmSeries have had this type of opening to some degree.** ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' opens with Blackout and Scorponok committing a realistic assault on the army base in Qatar.** ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'' opens with The Fallen brutalizing a prehistoric society, followed immediately by a brutal fight in Shanghai that ends with at least one bloody human death and a Decepticon being shot execution-style by Optimus Prime.** ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' opens with the final battle in the war that devastated Cybertron, with many Autobots and Decepticons being killed. The ''very next shot'' after that is a PantyShot of Carly.** ''Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction'' opens with alien warships killing ''many'' dinosaurs, and a couple of scenes later [[TheMedic Ratchet]] is [[spoiler: killed off by U.S Government agents with the aid of Lockdown, who then ''rips out Ratchet's spark'']]* ''Film/BeforeTheDevilKnowsYoureDead'' opens with a graphic 30-second sex scene.* ''Film/TheWolverine'' begins with the atomic bomb being dropped on Nagasaki, along with several Japanese generals committing suicide and Wolverine getting his skin blasted, setting the darker tone for the movie compared to previous X-Men movies.* The 2014 remake of ''Film/AboutLastNight'' opens with Bernie (Creator/KevinHart) discussing the one night stand he had the previous night an how great the girl was at blow jobs.* ''Film/AWalkAmongTheTombstones'' opens with the main character shooting several robbers, followed by the opening credits set over a brutal rape scene.* ''Film/TheBeastOfYuccaFlats'' opens with an R-Rated {{BLAM}}: A nameless woman goes topless, getting ready for bed, and is immediately strangled by an unknown assailant. After a not-so-subtle implication that the assailant will [[ILoveTheDead rape her corpse]], the movie cuts to the main plot and the murder is never mentioned.* Inverted for laughs in ''Film/GeorgeOfTheJungle'', where an opening scene features a jungle guide taking a fall that would be lethal... before he's shown bandaged up but safe, as the narrator assures us that this is actually a DenserAndWackier movie:-->''"Don't worry — nobody dies in this story. They just get really big boo-boos!"''* ''Film/Deadpool2016'' has opening credits with lots of profanity at some points and a fight scene instantly starts in which one of the villains gets decapitated and there's blood and guts everywhere.* ''Film/MeetTheFeebles'', a [[SubvertedKidsShow twisted, R-rated parody]] of ''Series/TheMuppetShow'', has a cigarette-smoking rat telling a hippo to "move yer fat ass" and a walrus and cat [[FanDisservice having sex]], all within the first few minutes to make it clear to anyone who mistakenly rented the film for their kids that this is ''not'' a puppet movie for the whole family. Just in case [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids the R-rating and cover art depicting a hippo toting a heavy machine gun didn't already tip them off.]]* ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'' has a decapitation (albeit [[GoryDiscretionShot shown only in shadow]]) within the first two minutes. The movie is PG-13 but it's probably intended as a warning that this is one of the more adult entries in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse and not for little kids.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV]]* ''Series/GameOfThrones'' start with the discovery of hacked up body parts.* Possibly one of the reasons David E. Kelley's Series/WonderWoman2011Pilot didn't get picked up. The opening scene shows a young high school athlete receiving a college acceptance letter, then promptly collapsing to the floor, bleeding from his eyes and ears. Just what moms with fond memories of watching Lynda Carter's series would want to share with their daughters!** After the teaser, we get our first glimpse of Wonder Woman lassoing a suspect by the neck and then torturing him for information.* An early scene in the first episode of ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' features a Weevil graphically killing someone, letting viewers know that this is going to be much more violent than the other series in the Franchise/{{Whoniverse}}.* ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'' features two naked women making out [[ShowerOfLove in a shower]] within the first few seconds of the first episode.* ''Series/{{Daredevil 2015}}'' opens with young Matt Murdoch being blinded in an industrial accident in graphic detail; as well as Daredevil breaking up a human trafficking case in the first few scenes, [[DarkerAndEdgier setting a darker tone compared to other TV works (and movies)]] in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse.* Similarly, ''Series/JessicaJones2015'' starts with Jessica following a couple during a tryst and taking photos of them in the act as part of her job as a PrivateInvestigator and swearing multiple times during her narration, clearly establishing that this show isn't for the kiddies.* To mark its fourth season debut and move to a later time slot, ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' featured both a shot of Skye's underwear clad rear end and newly added Ghost Rider spraying a character with blood from, as we learn later, him ripping out another character's spine in the first few minutes of the season opener.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature]]* The novelization of ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' begins with a family getting caught in a nuclear explosion, complete with a brief graphic description of their bodies being torn apart. [[spoiler:This is part of a film Marty and his classmates watch. To make this even more out of place, it was a holdover from an earlier version of the plot. "Are you telling me this sucker is nuclear?" indeed.]][[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]* ''VideoGame/PhantomBrave'' opens with Marona's parents getting killed by a creepy looking monster. After that, the opening sections of the game are comparatively lighthearted and look almost kiddy. The darkness doesn't come back into play until later on in the game. Unless you're silly enough to count little things like a mercenary first trying to murder a small child to take her work and pay out from under her, then doing so by framing her for causing the problem she was hired to solve, or virtually the entire world hating said small child because she has powers they don't approve of as dark.* ''VideoGame/ArcTheLad 2'' starts by showing the main character's people getting slaughtered with machine guns. The rest of the game is even worse.* The last few moments of ControllableHelplessness in ''VideoGame/{{XIII}}''[='s=] opening (the game is a CelShaded comic adaptation) consist of an innocent woman in a bathing suit being graphically machinegunned to death.* The opening of the original ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' has the main villain violently killing soldiers with his impish familiars. The main protagonist, Yuri, then proceeds to have a brutal fight with the BigBad which includes Yuri punching the villain's face in. Ironically, the rest of the game is far from being this violent again.* ''VideoGame/{{Killer 7}}'', within about five minutes of the start, has Dan Smith encounter a hooded man in a blood-splattered hotel. The man turns into a skinless monster, which he shoots in the face, followed by a muttered, "Shit." A couple minutes after that, a woman is blown up from the waist down by another of these monsters.* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' has Travis Touchdown decapitate a man in its intro.** And in ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle'', Travis delivers a PrecisionFStrike in his ''very first line''.* ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'' opens with Eddie Riggs being a roadie for a NuMetal band. The show then goes awry when the band starts trying complicated stage stunts. Eddie then calls the lead guitarist a [[PrecisionFStrike stupid motherfucker]]; and a beast then decapitates the band with lots of blood. The game actually takes the opportunity to freeze and prompt the player if they would like to turn on the gore and language filters before each of these happens.* ''VideoGame/TheWolfAmongUs'' starts out with a ClusterFBomb-spouting Mr. Toad, then minutes later gives us a violent brawl between our protagonist and a bald guy with an axe that ultimately ends up in the bald guy's skull.* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' starts out with your character getting sent to the execution block, watching someone getting arrowed to death for trying to run and watching someone get his head chopped off. And then the dragon attacks.** They also don't bother pretending to clean where they just took someone else's head off. Or respect the dude's corpse in any way, just shoving it off the chopping block with one foot. Nor do you even get a fresh head box - when your head is shoved down, you can still see the last guy's head in a box. And no, there's no room for yours in there as well.* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyType0'' opens with a scene of a brutal battle between a heavily mechanized imperial invasion force and a military academy; the Empire swiftly guns down any kids they can find, and the cadets respond to this by [[SummonMagic calling down Bahamut]] to ''vaporize'' most of the invading army.* ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' does this. After a brief tutorial that involves you shooting some bad guys, you first see two enemy commanders brutally mow down any civilian that gets in their way. Then Jaron Namir shows up. [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown By the time he's through with Adam, Adam has been thrown through a thick glass monitor and ripped to shreds, beaten to a pulp, and shot in the head with his own .357 Magnum revolver.]]* ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'' opens with the main villain leading an invasion into a palace, killing everyone in sight, beheading the king ''in front of his son'', and then capping off the intro cutscene by '''''preceding to brainwash said son into his mindless slave!'''''.* In ''VideoGame/UltimaVIII'', after an expository conversation with an NPC fisherman, the first story event you get to witness is a PublicExecution. That this is a DarkerAndEdgier M-rated game is emphasized by showing the bloody beheading without a GoryDiscretionShot.* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'':** ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' starts with the protagonist and his friends in a train station when an earthquake occurs, a train is derailed, and, among other casualties, said protagonist suffers a very bloody NearDeathExperience.** Not long after ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' begins, [[PlayerCharacter Nanashi]] and his childhood friend Asahi witness a high-ranking demon bloodily beat down their two mentors, followed by Nanashi himself suffering a similarly gory death at the hands of the same demon while Asahi helplessly looks on in sheer horror. Fortunately, he gets better.* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'': The game wastes no time in letting players know it's DarkerAndEdgier, with the protagonist suffering violent PoliceBrutality (including being drugged) in the prologue, the StarterVillain of the game proper being a sexual predator teacher, and one of your party member's high school friends [[DrivenToSuicide jumping off the school roof to kill herself]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]* [=ClockUp=]'s ''Maggot Baits'' first sexual opens with the "Witches" Isabel and Sandy having sex with and ''killing'' about ten men after talking about it to the protagonist. Taking place in a CityNoir, the game and its citizens treats this as something natural.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]* ''Webcomic/{{Curvy}}'' starts of with Anais drawing naked women in her binder.* ''Webcomic/GoGetARoomie'' starts off with Roomie having lesbian sex in a bar's restroom.* The opening gag of the long-running ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'' is an abortion joke. And if the reader doesn't realize from that point onward that the author ''will'' go for [[BlackComedy dark]], adult, offensive and sometimes violent humor, then they should figure it out pretty quickly when this is followed by main cast members attempting to steal from a Salvation Army Santa Claus and creating porno snow sculptures.* Not exactly the first scene (although Jigsaw DOES [[http://www.lastres0rt.com/2007/04/that-sound-you-hear-is-a-shattered-stereotype/ threaten someone with 'a violin case']]), but ''WebComic/LastRes0rt'' [[http://www.lastres0rt.com/2007/05/well-it-was-either-reveal-it-now-or-wait-three-years/ throws around the stuff about Vampires pretty quick]], and makes sure to [[http://www.lastres0rt.com/2007/05/this-is-not-for-shock-value-its-a-harbinger/ toss in some blood after that]]. WordOfGod says this was done on purpose (along with the gratuitous swearing) just so she wouldn't have to deal with people complaining when she got up to [[http://www.lastres0rt.com/2009/07/what-a-mess/ scenes like this one]]. When you know scenes like that could take years to get to (and people have invested more than just a few bucks in their entertainment by then), an R-Rated Opening makes a lot of sense.* While not right at the start the first chapter of ''WebComic/{{Shadownova}}'' definetly counts. A school is blown up, killing heaps of people, most of which would be children. Not long after we see the wounded students and teachers who aren't quite dead. Then Cameron Hunter arrives.* ''Webcomic/{{Remus}}'' kicks off with a RightWingMilitiaFanatic [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything flying a passenger jet into the White House]], the U.S.'s rapid descent into a full-blown second civil war and crackdown on civil liberties, and then gives us a bloody glimpse of that war via the series' resident KnifeNut. [[UpToEleven And that's the]] ''[[UpToEleven first three pages]]''...* A more mild example, but [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=001926 the first Pesterlog]] in ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' is a discussion between two of the main characters about ''Film/LittleMonsters''. Specifically, one of the characters is trolling the other into thinking about drinking urine after a mention of apple juice. This, along with other brief moments of ToiletHumor beforehand (including a joke command about pooping on desks) gives an early indicator [[BlackComedy the sort]] [[CrossesTheLineTwice of humor]] this comic is known for.* ''Webcomic/MenageA3'' provides another lightweight example, as the first ever strip features gay sex. It's a comedy, but its a ''sex'' comedy that doesn't pretend to be anything else (especially since some originally-obscured nudity got retconned in). Actually, one of those characters getting interrupted in the act has become a RunningGag in the comic.* ''[[{{Webcomic/morphe}} morphE]]'' is mostly a magical boarding school from hell story about 5 captives who are being trained in magic by a sociopathic socialite mage. However the prologue chapter, lasting 4 pages, depicts two people running from a knife weilding mad-woman and running in to human bodies locked in crates, coated in blood and with [[http://morphe.thewebcomic.com/comics/1677595/page-3-pathetic/ many of their digits removed.]]* Nine pages into ''Webcomic/{{Hellp}}'' and already we get blood splashing and body parts flying.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]* Evie and Aaron, the hosts of ''WebVideo/AwesomedByComicsPodcast'' related a completely accidental, but totally hilarious, example that occurred when they attended a matinee showing of ''Anime/YuGiOhBondsBeyondTime''. In a grievous error, the movie theater accidentally ran the film that apparently had been shown the previous night on that particular multiplex screen -- the ''very'' R-rated ''Film/DriveAngry'', whose opening minutes are particularly front-loaded with violence and profanity. Apart from Evie and Aaron, the audience consisted entirely of children and parents. [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity Ensued]].* ''[[WebAnimation/PONYDotMOV APPLE.MOV]]'': "Applejack, what are you doing? You can't eat all those fucking apples." "Fuck you I can eat all these apples!"* ''WebVideo/{{Proxy}}'' begins with [[{{Creepypasta}} Jeff the Killer]] killing an innocent woman and then being captured by a [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos certain tall, dark and faceless entity]] who proceeds to force feed him some sort of suspicious liquid...* Invoked if not ''precisely'' played straight with the opening scene of ''WebVideo/SuburbanKnights'': no one expects the cast of Website/ThatGuyWithTheGlasses to be "family-friendly," but the bloody splattering of the clueless motorist across his car windows by [[BigBad Malachite]] definitely serves notice that things are about to get more serious than the [[WebVideo/TGWTGYearOneBrawl previous]] [[WebVideo/{{Kickassia}} outings]].** This is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d when the Critic reviewed this movie as a DVD extra.-->'''Critic:''' ''(when Bill's head explodes)'' Whoa! Um... okay, somebody's movie forgot to take its depression medication. I mean, I thought this was, like, fun, adventure, people in dress-up fantasy, ooooh, all sorts of whimsical comedy and-- ''(the car blows up, much to the Critic's shock)'' Did I put in the wrong movie?! I mean, the back of the film says it's a hilarious adventure with non-stop fun! ''(replays the explosion)'' Maybe if you call it "An Arsonist's Christmas"![[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Spawn}}'' animated series starts with a shockingly brutal (and [[VisualEffectsOfAwesome beautifully animated]]) scene where several people are [[{{Gorn}} messily]] killed, including one guy whose head gets twisted 180 degrees by the title character, another who burns to death in graphic detail, and another whose arm is snapped in half so that he blows his brains out with his own gun.* The ''[[WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers Galaxy Rangers]]'' pilot episode, "Phoenix," has about three minutes to set up the general situation - the Foxx family heading to Kirwin, the human-Kiwi collaboration on new agricultural tech...and then the Crown Destroyer shows up and people start getting gunned down right and left.* The second scene of Serbian animated film ''Animation/TechnotiseEditIJa'' features two characters discussing [[SexBot robotic prostitutes]].[[/folder]]----